Fashion Photographer Turns Camera Lens on Rescue Dogs

— -- Richard Phibbs travels the world photographing models and celebrities for publications including Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and Vogue China.

When Phibbs is home in the U.S., he turns his camera lens on more unlikely subjects: rescue dogs at The Humane Society of New York who are in need of homes.

“My job requires me to travel a lot around the world and I’m overwhelmed by the amount of suffering that I see to animals around the world,” Phibbs told ABC News. “It makes me feel heavy-hearted, so as opposed to doing nothing, I found that volunteering my services to The Humane Society is a way that I could help.”

Phibbs began volunteering his photography skills with The Humane Society of New York four years ago. He has since photographed more than 360 dogs, a collection of which are captured in a new book “Rescue Me.”

Phibbs takes over a small examination room at The Humane Society’s Upper East Side location whenever he is home in New York City. He said he creates a serene, trusting environment for the dogs, who were all rescued from places of abuse or abandonment.

“We stay low to the floor and don’t make eye contact and put our backs to the dogs so they can kind of feel comfortable,” Phibbs said. “Then we can start to show them attention and love.”

Sandra DeFeo, the executive director of The Humane Society of New York, said it is Phibbs’ level of trust with the dogs that allows him to capture such striking portraits.

“He goes in the room and he relates to the dog like he would a person that he’s photographing,” DeFeo told ABC News. “He gets a feel for them so he can make a really good portrait of them.”

She added, “I really feel like he sees each dog’s soul, and each of the dog’s expressions is unique because it’s an expression of their soul.”

DeFeo said that Phibbs’ portraits go viral when The Humane Society posts them on social media and more often than not result in the dogs being adopted.

Phibbs himself adopted a dog, named Finn, that he photographed. The book “Rescue Me” came about because a book publisher adopted a dog Phibbs photographed and asked him about his work.

Phibbs said he hopes the book enlightens people to have compassion "for all little things."

“This is a little book that I hope does big things,” said Phibbs, who is donating his proceeds of “Rescue Me” to The Humane Society of New York.

“The collection of photographs really speaks to the power of photography and photography has this power to speak the truth,” he said. “When you look at the group of them, you’re not enlightening people on the value of shelter dogs but ultimately enlightening them to the value of all living beings.”